Device for positioning pipe in a drilling derrick



Oct. 19, 1954 T. J. BOLLING, JR

DEVICE FOR POSITIONING PIPE IN A DRILLING DERRICK Filed July 15, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Thomas J. Bolling Jn,

AT TOR/V5).

Oct. 19, 1954 T. J. BOLLING, JR

DEVICE FOR POSITIONING PIPE IN A DRILLING DERRICK Filed July 15, 1953 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Thom a s 'J. Bolling Jz,

ATTORNEY Oct. 19, 1954 T. J. BOLLING, JR 2,692,059

DEVICE FOR POSITIONING PIPE IN A DRILLING DERRICK Filed July 15, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Thomas J. Bolling Jn,

ATTO/P/VEK Oct. 19, 1954 T. J. BOLLING, JR 2,

DEVICE FOR POSITIONING PIPE IN A DRILLING DERRICK Filed July 15, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 7.

INVENTOR. Thomas J. Bolling Jn,

ATTORNEY- Patented Oct. 19, 1954 DEVICE FOR POSITIONING PIPE IN A DRILLING DERRICK Thomas J. Bolling, .lr., Houston, Tex., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Standard |il Development Company, Elizabeth, N. .l., a corporation of Delaware Application July 15, 1953, Serial No. 368,190

2 Claims.

This application is directed to a positioning means for positioning vertical joints of drilling pipe preparatory to screwing the joints of pipe together.

The objects and advantages of the device of the present invention will be seen from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing in which Fig. 1 is in the form of an isometric drawing showing an embodiment of the present invention in relation to the conventional drilling equipment in a drilling derrick;

Fig. 2 shows a portion ofthe mechanism of Fig. 1 with compressed air control mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in section showing a portion of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top view of a portion of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a bottom View of a portion of the device shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view with parts cut away showing details of construction of the mechanism of Figs. 4 and 5; and

Fig. 7 is a side view of the portion of the device shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Turning now specifically to the drawing and first to Fig. 1, a derrick floor ll of a drilling derrick, one corner post of which is shown as l2, is provided with a pipe rack I3 with a section of pipe Id racked thereon. At the center of the drilling derrick is mounted a rotary table consisting of a stationary portion l5 and a rotating portion IS. The upper end of the drill stem H is shown suspended by means of power slip assembly 58. This equipment is conventional in a rotary drilling derrick.

An embodiment of the pipe handling assembly of the present invention consists of a base A which is secured to the stationary portion of the rotary table, an upright member B mounted on the base member, a power piston and cylinder assembly C mounted on the upright member B, a piston rod D and a pipe receiving member E.

The power piston and cylinder assembly consists of a cylinder 20, piston 2i, and piston rod 22 which has one end secured to piston 25 and the other end secured to pipe receiving member E.

In Fig. 1, by way of illustration, the lower end of a suspended section of pipe 23 is shown. The lower end is in the position which a stand of pipe supported by the elevators (not shown) may assume as it is moved from racking position to the center of the derrick.

Upright member B is secured to base member A by means of a hinge pin 2d and a releasable latch indicated schematically as 25. In normal operation the releasable latch 25 maintains the assembly in the position as shown in Fig. 1 but when it is desired to get the pipe centering device out of the way of the derrick floor so that other drilling operations may be performed, the trap door 26 shown in the derrick floor may be opened, the releasable latch released and the structure pivoted about pin 24 and lowered so that the cylinder 21? of assembly 0 enters the opening of the trap door and is below the surface of the fioor so that in this position the portions of the assembly above the derrick floor are base member A and supporting member B lying substantially flat on the derrick floor and pipe receiving portion E and the piston rod 22 extending vertically into the air.

Cylinder 2i! of assembly 0 is pivotally mounted on upright member B. A ring as embraces cylinder 20 and projecting therefrom is a pivot pin 3! fitting into a corresponding recess in member B. In order to bias cylinder 20 in a predetermined position, a pair of springs 32 and 33 is provided with the inner ends of the springs resting against member B and the outer ends resting against a collar 3 which encircles the cylinder and transmits the bias from the springs to said cylinder.

The details of the construction of the pipe receiving member and its associated mechanism are shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7.

A piston and cylinder power assembly H is mounted on pipe receiving member E by a pivotal mounting means 58. The piston and cylinder assembly I-I consists of a cylinder 5!, piston 52 slidably mounted therein with piston rod 53 secured thereto. Compressed air is supplied to the ends of piston d! by means of lines 5d and 55. Shafts 5t and til are carried by member El and have secured thereto pipe latching arms 53 and 59, respectively. In Fig. 4 the arms 53 and 59 are shown in their open positions by full lines and are indicated in their pipe latching positions by dashed lines. A lever arm 6!! has one end fixed to shaft 56 and its other end secured to the free end of piston rod 53 by pivot $2. Thus, it wi l be seen that longitudinal movement of piston rod 53 causes arm 58 to move arcuately.

The movement from shaft 56 is transmitted to shaft 57 to cause the two shafts to work in unison by the mechanism shown in Figs. 6 and '7. A pair of gears 70, TI is fixed to shaft 56 and a corresponding pair of gears 12, 13 is fixed to shaft 57.

. to serve as idlers.

In the drawing for purposes of simplification, the gears 10, II and 12, 13 are shown as dashed circles. A shaft 14 is mounted on member E at the center of the V-shaped opening and a pair of gears 15 16 is rotatably mounted on said shaft Gears l5, 16 like gears 10, H are shown as circles to simplify the drawing. A heavy chain 11 has one end made fast to gear 19 and is passed around idler gear 15 and has its other end secured to gear 12. A second chain 18 has an end secured to gear H and is passed around the idler gear 16 and has its other end made fast to gear 13. In closing the arms 58, 59, the mechanical movement from shaft 56 is transmitted to shaft 51 by means of the chain 11 and when retracting the arms the mechanical movement is transmitted from shaft 16 through chain I8 to shaft 51.

The cylinder and piston power assembly H, which controls the positions of arms 58 and 59, is actuated by valve assembly J on which a tripping member K projects so that the valve is actuated by movement of the tripping bars M and N.

As shown in Fig. 4, tripping bar M is attached to the outer end of arm 80 of pipe receiving member E by means of pivot 84 and extends adjacent the edge 82 of arm 89 but is spaced away therefrom into the V-shaped opening. The free end of tripping bar M terminates in a roller 83 which is in contact with tripping member K of valve J. Tripping bar M is biased away from surface 82 of arm 80 by a spring biased bar positioner such as a spring 85 contained in a body 84 mounted on arm 80, and a piston rod 85 pivotly attached to tripping bar M.

Tripping bar N is similar to bar M and is attached to arm 90 of member E by pivot 9| and extends along the edge 92 of arm 99 but is spaced away therefrom into the V-shaped opening of member E with its free end terminating in a roller 93 which rests against tripping member K. Tripping bar N is biased away from surface 92 by a spring biased ba-r positioner such as a spring 95 contained in a cylinder 94 attached to arm 90 and a piston rod 96 which is pivotally attached to arm N. Bar guides 88 and 98 attached to arms 89 and 99, respectively, aid further in guiding the tripping arms M and N in their predetermined paths.

The compressed air circuit for actuating the cylinder and piston power assemblies C and H is shown in Fig. 2. In this figure an addition to the piston and cylinder power assemblies listed is valve J which has been previously mentioned. In addition, hand actuated valve is shown. Compressed air for powering the system is supplied by a suitable means, not shown in the drawing, such as an air compressor. For convenience the compressed air inlets are all designated by the common reference letter Q- Hand operated valve 0 is conventional threeway bleeder type valve. In order to simplify the drawing, the bleeder outlets are not shown. Valve 0 is supplied with air from compressed air supply line Q and has a delivery to line I H] which is connected to the head end of cylinder 29 of the piston and cylinder assembly C. The other delivery line H4 of valve 0 is connected through fitting H to the piston rod end of cylinder 20 of the piston and cylinder assembly C, and is connected by line I I4 and branch line H 5 to the piston actuator I iii of valve J. Valve 0 is provided with the usual operating handle H1. It will be obvious that by manipulation of operation handle I I1 compressed air may be supplied from line Q through valve 0 and. line H0 to apply compressed air pressure in'space' H8 of cylinder 20 thus forcing piston 21 to the right, as shown in Fig. 2, while compressed air is being bled from space H9 in cylinder 20 through line H4 and from piston actuator H6 of valve J through the bleeder port, not shown in the drawing, of valve 0. Similarly, by manipulating handle Ill compressed air is supplied to piston actuator H6 of valve J and to space H9 and is bled from space H8 to manipulate the valve element of valve J and to force piston 21 to its left position.

Valve J is a conventional bleeder type valve with its inlet supplied with air from line Q and having delivery outlets I40 and Ml. Valve J is provided with mechanical tripping member K and piston actuator I Hi. In order to simplify the drawing the mechanism of valve J is not shown in detail. When the movable valve element is moved tothe right in fullest extent as shown in Fig. 2 (hereinafter called the first position for the valve) (piston actuator H6 is capable of forcing the movable valve element to assume this position) air passes from inlet line Q through the body of valve J through delivery line Hi9 and enters chamber M2 of piston and cylinder assembly H and at the same time air is bled from chamber I43 of assembly H through line MI. This biases piston 52-to the head end of the cylinder 5| of assembly H, and causes the arms 58 and 59 to be retained in the position shown by full lines in Fig.

4. When the valve mechanism of valve J is moved to the left, hereinafter termed the second position which movement is obtained by the mechanical movement of tripping member K to the left, compressed air passes from inlet line Q through delivery line Mi to chamber I43 and is bled from chamber M2 through line I40. This causes the piston 52 to be moved toward the piston rod end of the cylinder 5| of assembly H and in turn causes arms 58 and 59 to assume the position shown by dashed lines in Fig. 4.

The compressed air piston actuator H6 tends to bias the movable element of valve J, with attached tripping mechanism K to its first position. Thus when compressed air is allowed to enter through valve 0 and branch line H4 of piston and assembly C, it also'passes through line M5 to piston actuator'llli and forces the valve element of valve J to its first position at which time the arms 58 and 59 are in their open position'as shown by the full lines ofv Fig. 4.

The device of the present invention is particularly adapted for engaging a swinging stand of pipe in a drilling derrick as it is suspended from the pipe elevators andis'being moved from racking position to the center of the derrick. A view of such an operation is sh'own'i'n Fig. l in which the lower end of a stand ofpipe 23 is swinging into they-shaped opening of member E. This is also indicated in Figs. 4 and 5 where the dashed circles I45, I46, and I4! indicate the consecutive positions assumed by the lower end of the pipe as it swings toward the pipe receiving assembly E.

In Fig. 1 and also Figs. 4 and 5 the pipe has not come into contact with one of the tripping bars. In Figs. 4 and 5 the dashed circle I4? is adJacent tripping .bar N so that a slight additional movement of the pipe will bring it in contact with the tripping bar N which in turn will causemember Kof valve J to move the valve element'J (not shown on the drawing) from its first position to its second position which in turn will cause arms 58 and 59 to be moved to the position shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 4, thereby latching the sectioii of pipe into the position shown by dashed circle I43 in the angle of the V-shaped opening of member E. As seen in Fig. 1 the assembly is so arranged that the pipe in this position coincides with the center line of the drill string so that upon lowering the stand of pipe the screw threads at the end engage with the screw threads of the upper end of the drill pipe in the borehole (member I I in Fig. 1) and the two sections of pipe may readily be screwed together.

After the section of pipe being handled has been engaged with the string of drill pipe in the borehole, the pipe receiving member E may be moved away from the center or the derrick by manipulating operating handle I I! of valve 0, which bleeds air through line H from chamber H8 of assembly C, delivers compressed air through line H4 to chamber II9 of assembly C, and delivers compressed air through line I I4 and branch line H5 to piston actuator I I6 of valve J which in turn moves the valve element of valve J to its first position whereupon compressed air is delivered through line Q to valve J and line I40 to chamber I42 of assembly H. At the same time air is bled from chamber I43 of assembly I-I. This causes piston 52 of assembly H to move to the head end of cylinder 5I of assembly H and in turn causes the arms 58 and 59 to assume their open positions as shown by full lines in Fig. 4 and at the same time piston 2| of assembly C is caused to move toward the head end of cylinder 20. Thus this manipulation of operating handle of valve I ll of valve 0 causes the arms 58 and 59 to swing open to release the assembly from the stand of pipe and. also causes piston 2| to move toward the head end of the cylinder to moving member E away from the stand of pipe. After the suitable operations have been performed at the center of the derrick, it is desirable that the Assembly E be moved into position, to guide a section of pipe that is being moved from the racking position to the center of the derrick. This may be done by actuating handle H! of valve 0 to cause compressed air to be delivered through line H0 and to be bled from line II 4. The compressed air is imposed in chamber H8 and forces piston 2| to the piston end of cylinder 20, so that the assembly is ready to receive another section of pipe.

While a specific embodiment of the present specification has been described, it will be obvious that the various changes in the sizes and proportions of the several parts making up the assembly may be varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A centering device for centering a vertical section of pipe in a drilling derrick comprising, in combination, a first piston and cylinder power assembly consisting of a cylinder and a piston with a piston rod attached thereto slidably arranged within the cylinder, a pipe receiving member secured to said piston rod and having first and second arms with their free ends extending away from said piston rod to form a symmetrical V-shaped opening with the center line of the opening coinciding with the center line of said piston and cylinder assembly, a first trigger bar having its first end pivotally mounted to the free end of said first arm of the pipe receiving member and extending substantially the full length of said arm adjacent but spaced away from said arm into said V-shaped pipe receiving opening with its second end adjacent the center of said \l-shaped opening, a second trigger bar having its first end pivotally attached to the outer end of the second arm and extending substantially the full length of said second arm and lying adjacent thereto but spaced away from said second arm into said V-shaped pipe receiving opening, a valve for controlling the flow of fiuid and provided with a tripping mechanism mounted on said pipe receiving member with said tripping member adjacent the second ends of said first and second trigger bars and arranged to assume a first position and to be moved by said trigger bars from said first position to a second position upon movement of said trigger bars toward the pipe receiving member, said movement of the tripping mechanism actuating said valve mechanism, a pipe clamping arm mounted on said pipe receiving member arranged to assume a first position to allow the free entry of a section of pipe into said V-shaped notch and movable from said first to a second position for clamping said section of pipe in said V-shaped pipe receiving opening, a second power piston and cylinder assembly mounted on said pipe receiving member and operatively connected to said pipe clamping arm for actuating said pipe clamping arm and means fluidly connecting said valve with said second power piston and cylinder assembly whereby actuation of said valve actuates said piston and cylinder assembly.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which a first pipe clamping arm is mounted on the first arm of said pipe receiving member and a second clamping arm is mounted on the second arm of said pipe receiving member and in which said arms are operatively connected to said second power piston and cylinder assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,467,262 Barker Sept. 4, 1923 1,884,874 Ross Oct. 25, 1932 2,184,051 Moise Dec. 19, 1939 2,206,185 Graham et a1 July 2, 1940 2,450,934 Calhoun Oct. 12, 1948 

